Cynthia Friend

Cynthia Friend, Ph.D. is a professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University. She was the first female full professor of Chemistry at Harvard, attaining the position in 1989. Today she is the Theodore William Richards Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Materials Science, as well as a member of the editorial board of ACS Catalysis, Chemical Science, and the Journal of the American Chemical Society. She served as co-Editor-in-Chief of the Catalysis Science & Technology journal from 2010 until 2013. Her research focuses on controlling the chemical and physical properties of interfaces, by investigating important catalytic reactions and by making new materials with key chemical functionality. Her lab aims to develop solutions to important problems in energy usage and environmental chemistry.

Dr. Friend joined the Chemistry department of Harvard University in 1982 after doing her postdoctoral research at Stanford University and earning her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Her previous leadership positions at Harvard include Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (2002-05), Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology (2004-07), and Associate Director of the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (2002-2011), and Radcliffe Trustee (1990-93). Dr. Friend also served as Associate Director of the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, at Stanford University (2011-2012) while on a leave from Harvard.